


Simplify

by ImagineTheDragon



Series: I Wouldn't Mind [5]
Category: Seduce Me (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Puppies, because they're cute and their paws are too big, here's some puppies, i'm sorry i traumatized you, listen, puppies solve all problems
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:20:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26187085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImagineTheDragon/pseuds/ImagineTheDragon
Summary: A month and a half after the events of Carry You Home, Abigail and Sam go pick out a puppy.
Relationships: Sam Anderson | Aomaris/Original Female Character(s)
Series: I Wouldn't Mind [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1799428
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	Simplify

**Author's Note:**

> listen. sometimes you just gotta throw puppies at the problem.  
> a quick one shot based around the fact that i like puppies and abby brought up getting a dog at the beginning of carry you home and i Really Wanted To Do That

I smiled at the sight of Sam lying in the grass being swarmed with puppies. They were yipping and whining and crawling all over him, determined to lick his face. From where I was sitting fifteen or so feet away I could vaguely hear him grumbling and complaining to himself, but he made absolutely no effort to get them off or get out of their way. I could see from the gleam in his eyes that he was loving every second of it. 

The puppies’ mom, a gorgeous german shepherd rottie cross named Molly, had her head in my lap, and I was running my fingers through her fur as we watched the puppy-pile. The big dog sighed, stretching her legs out in front of her, apparently grateful to have a break from her five children. 

“Happy to help, momma,” I murmured, scritching her ears. 

The sun shone down on us, pleasantly warm for October, with the occasional breeze sweeping by to mix it up and scud the soft white clouds through the Alberta sky above us. I closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of the sun on my face, smiling at the intermittent sounds of Sam pretending he was annoyed at the puppies. 

“Hey, sweetie.” 

I tilted my head in acknowledgement of mom as she sat down next to me, careful to not disturb Molly. We sat in companionable silence for a minute or two before she started speaking. 

“I don’t know what happened that day, your wedding. That wasn’t like you, to just disappear. Then Sam’s brothers… I still can’t remember exactly what they said. I just remember that it made us feel better, that nothing was wrong and the wedding was postponed. It’s very strange. Your mother and I, we should remember  _ something _ about it, but neither of us do.”

I tangled my fingers in Molly’s fur, taking comfort in the dog’s solid presence. I had no clue where this was going. No one had really brought up what happened at the wedding since I came back. I wasn’t entirely clear on what had gone down when I hadn’t shown up. My moms had expressed concern about it, but they hadn’t pushed the issue.

I didn’t reply to mom, waiting for her to continue. 

“Something happened to you,” she pressed. “You’ve been more distant than usual, and you’re not as happy. On top of that you’ve lost  _ so  _ much weight, which, I don’t even know how that’s possible since you were only gone for a day. You flinch at loud noises, you don’t meet people’s eyes anymore... if I had to guess something very traumatic happened-”

“Family doesn’t psychoanalyze family,” I interrupted softly, repeating back the words she used when Chris and I were growing up.

I honestly didn’t blame her for being concerned. There was no way for me to keep my moms from seeing me. I didn’t want to isolate myself from them for the amount of time it would take for me to get back up to my previous weight. They didn’t deserve that. The trade-off was trying to find a cover story about what had happened. 

I had made the dubious decision to not address it. There was no non-supernatural way to explain the weight loss, the trauma. Suzu and Naomi had asked, of course they had. But they hadn’t pushed it when I told them I didn’t want to talk about it. I had no clue what explanations they’d come up with, but like I’d told James when I first met him and his brothers, humans were good at coming up with their own explanations. My moms on the other hand… 

I opened my eyes and glanced over, watching as mom rubbed her neck uncomfortably. 

She had recently stopped dying her hair, and her blonde was starting to get streaked through with grey. It was weird, seeing signs that my mom was getting older. She’d had laugh lines and crow’s feet for almost as long as I could remember, but they were much more pronounced now, and if the way she had started to move her hands was any indication, she was developing arthritis.

Mom, mother, Chris, Stefan, Natalia, Naomi, Suzu… I loved them all so much. But they would grow old and die without knowing about a huge part of my life, and that wore at me.

“I know,” she replied. “I just… your mother and I - and Stefan - are really worried about you.”

She reached out, putting her hand over mine where it rested in the grass. “If you’re in danger, that’s something we need to know so we can help you.” 

I tried to come up with some excuse, something that would explain away everything. Looking into mom’s bright blue eyes, though, I couldn’t come up with anything. I blew out my cheeks, turning my hand over beneath hers and giving it a squeeze. 

“I’m dealing with it, mom. I really appreciate that you guys are worried about me, but it’s not something I can involve you in.”

“I know you love Sam; he’s a good man, and he’s grown on all of us. Like a cave fungus.” Despite her word choice, she said it with fondness as she watched him playing with the puppies before returning her attention to me. “But if he and his brothers are involved in some sort of gang activity-”

I couldn’t help the snort that escaped me at that. I could definitely see why that would be the  _ most  _ logical conclusion to come to, given what little information they had to work with. Still, the thought of the boys being involved in a gang was absurd. 

“No, it’s not gang activity, mom.”

“But it does have something to do with Sam and his brothers?”

I bit my lip, looking back at Sam, still playing with the puppies. Mom was too quick at connecting the dots, and I hated lying to my family too much for this to be a safe conversation. 

_ If the angels find out what you know, if you tell people about demons and devils and magic, they will baptize both you and them. _

James’ warning from two and a half years ago echoed ominously in my head. As much as I couldn’t stand lying to my family, the alternative was worse. 

“I…”

Mom gave my hand a reassuring squeeze, waiting patiently for me to collect my thoughts. 

One of the puppies shoved their paw in Sam’s mouth, and he sputtered indignantly. It made me smile, and slightly loosened the knot of anxiety that had formed in my stomach. 

I had Sam. No matter what happened, I always had Sam.

“There are a lot of things out there that people aren’t supposed to know about.  _ I  _ wasn’t meant to find out. But I did, and there are consequences for that.” I looked back at mom, tilting my head and giving her what I hoped was a reassuring smile. “I’m willing to bear those consequences. I’m getting more good out of the deal than bad. But I refuse to let you, the rest of my family, or any of my friends take those risks.” 

Mom looked like she wanted to interrupt, but I pressed on. “I’m okay. Or I will be. I can’t tell you what happened. Yes, it was bad. But I’m working on recovering. I have a full-time therapist now who I can talk to about everything. I have medication. I hate lying to you guys more than anything, but it’s the only option I have to make sure you stay safe. I’ve been with Sam and his brothers for two and a half years now, and what happened in August was the first time anything awful has happened from that decision. They helped me, and they will again if something else goes down.”

Mom searched my face for a moment, brows still knit in worry. After what felt like minutes but couldn’t have been more than fifteen seconds, she nodded, still looking unhappy. She glanced down at our hands, still clasped together in the grass. 

“You’re our daughter, and we won’t ever stop worrying about you. If you’re in danger, I want you to come to us, risks be damned. But you’re old enough to make your own decisions, and I’ll respect that.”

I gave her hand one last squeeze before she let it go and stood up, going back towards the house where mother was standing with Clarice, their friend and the one giving us first pick of her dog’s puppies.

I appreciated that they worried about me, I really did. But I was the one who decided to love a demon. I was the one who decided to cultivate my magical talent. I was the one who decided to not let those I cared about bear the weight of those decisions. 

“Everything alright?” 

I turned back around to see Sam standing in front of me holding two puppies. I gave him a smile. 

Head still on my thigh, Molly’s tail started thumping rhythmically on the ground as she looked up at them.

“Yeah, everything’s alright. Although, I can’t help but notice you have two of those and not one.”

“Okay, but hear me out…” He sat down in front of me, setting the puppies in the circle of his crossed legs. “It would be cruel to split them up.”

I laughed, but cut my retort off when one of the puppies escaped from Sam and crawled into my lap. Molly adjusted herself, taking her head off my leg with a dramatic sigh. 

“Hello there,” I said, transferring my hand from Molly’s fur to the puppy's floppy ears. 

Sam grinned at me. “See! He loves you!”

I gave him a look, but I felt myself melting. 

I picked the puppy up and held him in front of my face. He had the facial structure of a german shepherd and the body structure of a beefy golden retriever, all softened by puppy fat and big, clumsy paws. His fur was long, starting black across his muzzle, shoulders, and back, fading to brown and gold as it went down his chest and legs. He had these big golden brown eyes that watched me somberly. He licked my nose. 

I glanced back to Sam, seeing him cuddling the other puppy to his chest and watching me hopefully. I lowered the puppy back into my lap, and he curled up with his chin on my ankle. 

I considered Sam for a moment. 

“We have  _ room  _ for two dogs,” I said slowly. “But we need to be sure we’re able to  _ take care _ of two dogs. You’re at work five days a week, and I have class and a social life. These aren’t small dogs, they’re gonna need a lot of attention and exercise.”

Sam set his own puppy on the grass. She was more brown and gold than the one I held, and she eagerly launched herself at her mother who was just starting to settle into a nap. 

Sam nodded at me. “Yeah. That’s one of the reasons I think having two would be a good idea. They can keep each other entertained while you’re doing school work, or we’re both out, and they’ll always have someone to play with.”

I arched an eyebrow at him, sensing there was more to his reasoning.

“Aaaand,” he continued after a moment, “I thought you’d like him.” He was grinning shamelessly at me. I glanced down and stilled my hands, not even realizing I’d been running my fingers through the puppy’s fur as he started to doze off in my lap.

“In my defense, it’s basically impossible to  _ dis _ like a puppy.”

Sam just grinned at me. 

“Hmmm,” I considered. 

It had been a long time since I’d had a pet that was  _ mine _ . The animals on my moms’ farm, they were family animals, sure, and I had spent plenty of time taking care of them and training them. But none of them had been  _ mine  _ since Merle died. Until that moment exactly, I didn’t realize that it had bothered me. Was that petty of me?

Probably.

I gently ran my fingers across the puppy’s soft fur, and he shifted slightly, eyes blinking momentarily open as he leaned into my touch before dozing off again.

I glanced over my shoulder to where my moms were talking with Clarice, raising my voice so they could hear. “Mother, the place we’re gonna be renting from Stefan’s cousin in January, do you know if they’re cool with us having two dogs?”

“I don’t know,” she replied, tilting her head curiously. “You could give Stefan a call?”

I nodded, giving her a thumbs up and turning back to Sam. I completely ignored the amused look in mom’s eyes as she watched us. 

“This is all your fault,” I told him accusingly. He just grinned as I lifted my hip, doing my best not to disturb the pup in my lap, and pulled out my phone. 

~~~

I closed my laptop, happy with the progress I’d made on my geology assignment. I didn’t get up from where I was curled up on the office chair, however. My puppy was on my lap, snuffling softly as he slept off his busy day of exploring the mansion. 

I rubbed his ears, not getting any reaction from him. 

We’d had them home for three days now, and both were adjusting well to the new environment. Sam’s pup was sleeping on the far-too-big doggy bed sitting in the sun pouring through the windows of what used to be my grandfather’s study, looking for all the world like an angel. Just from looking at her you wouldn’t guess that she’d gnawed a hole in my running shoes yesterday.

We hadn’t chosen names for them yet. I’d tried to tell Sam that he could name both, since that’s what I’d promised him when I’d told him we were going to get a dog. He insisted that I got to name my puppy, and in all honesty I didn’t fight him too hard. 

“What’s your name, hmm?” I asked the ball of fur on my lap. He didn’t answer, just shifted his weight a little bit before sighing dramatically and settling deeper into his nap.

My train of thought was interrupted by Sam knocking lightly on the study door.

“Come in,” I called softly. His puppy partially woke up, blinking blearily at Sam as he opened the door and came in, still towel drying his hair from his shower.

“I’ve been thinking-”

“Careful, you don’t strain yourself,” I teased, smiling at him. 

He narrowed his eyes, but I saw the corners of his lips twitching. 

“You see what I put up with?” he asked his puppy. She just yawned, tail thwapping the doggy bed as it wagged lazily. She didn’t even lift her head, still struggling to open her eyes.

I stood up, bringing the puppy in my lap with me as I walked to Sam and kissed his cheek. “Sorry darling, where were you before I so rudely interrupted?”

He wrapped his arm around my waist, looking down at me with a playful glare before letting the towel fall from his other hand and reaching out to ruffle the top of the puppy’s head. 

“You see what I put up with?” he asked the pup. He was unimpressed, catching Sam’s hand reproachfully between his teeth for a moment before letting it go with a yawn. 

“I was thinking,” Sam started again, eyes narrowed at me again as he paused, waiting for me to interrupt again. I just gave him an innocent smile. “About names for her.”

I nodded, tilting my head. He’d had a couple ideas, the forerunners being Mabel and Tali. 

The puppy he had chosen was very energetic. She loved being around people, and always wanted to play and run and roughhouse. 

Her brother, my puppy, was a lot more calm. He still loved playing with his sister, but he was a lot more aware of Sam and I. He’d comforted me out of a panic attack the other day. I was seriously considering training him as a service dog.

“What were you thinking?” I asked, passing him my puppy then bending to pick up the other one as she stumbled off the dog bed. 

“Georgiana.”

I grinned at him, ignoring the wagging tail now hitting my ribs as his puppy started to wake up properly. “Like Georgiana from Pride and Prejudice Georgiana? I didn’t realize you liked the movie that much.”

Sam swapped puppies with me, letting her dig her dull claws into his shoulder so she could lick at his face. “What can I say? I’m a sucker for a good romance story.”

I smiled up at him, what I had originally intended as a teasing grin coming out as something a lot softer. “I like it,” I said, pulling my puppy closer to my chest. 

Sam grinned at me. “Good. I was thinking about it pretty much all day. I think it’s what I’m gonna go with.” He turned his attention to the dog, who was doing her best to clamber up onto his head, pulling her away enough to look her in her face. “What do you think about it? Georgiana? Georgie?”

She barked cheerfully, oversized paws paddling at the air to try and get back to licking his face. 

“She likes it,” I laughed. I brought my pup up to my face, looking him in his somber eyes. They were puppy-huge, and such a dark brown they were almost black. 

I’d been waiting for Sam to pick a name for his before seriously thinking about what to call him. I didn’t have my heart set on matching names, exactly, but I wanted them to sound good together. “Does that make you Darcy?” I asked him. His tail wagged a bit, and his head tilted quizzically as he watched me. “I think that’s a yes.”

Sam set Georgiana down, and she did a few circles of his feet before bouncing over to me and hoping at my shins with a yip. I set Darcy down, and the two chased each other out into the hall, dodging the half-packed boxes that littered the floor. 

Sam took my hand, and we followed them out, corralling them towards the stairs and the back door to let them into the backyard to go to the bathroom. 

“I heard you talking to your mom the other day,” Sam said as we watched the dogs trip over each other before separating to explore the yard. 

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” His face was wistful as he watched the dogs, sad. “I’m sorry that being with me means you have to lie to your family.”

I shrugged, turning my attention to the dogs as well. “I knew what I was getting myself into when we started dating,” I said simply. “I don’t regret it.”

He hummed, then tugged on my hand, pulling me around in front of him so we were standing chest to chest, his arms circling protectively around me. 

“I love you. You’re the strongest person I know, and I’m so happy you chose to be with me.”

I reached up and cupped his face, giving him a smile I could tell was tinged with sadness despite my best efforts to hide it.

“I’ll always choose you, Sammy. I’m sad my family can’t share in this part of my life with me, but I’ll always choose you.”

As he leaned down to press a kiss to my lips, I realized how right those words felt. 

Everything wouldn’t be good forever, that’s not how life worked. But as long as I had Sam, we would figure it out.

Our moment was interrupted by Georgiana and Darcy running headlong into our legs. 


End file.
